


you were never mine

by LiveLaughLovex



Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Introspection, Past John "Abe" Abraham/Alex Hunt, Past Relationships(s), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26121955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Alex Hunt receives the wedding invitation of John Abraham and Harper Li on a warm, sunshine-filled day in late June.
Relationships: John "Abe" Abraham/Harper Li
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	you were never mine

**Author's Note:**

> Did I actually write over 1,000 words trying to get into the mind of a character I don't even really like that much? Yes. Yes, I did, because I still feel like the character wasn't given her full potential due to how little screen-time she truly had, and the fact that most of it was based around her relationship with Abe, which I couldn't stand. Also, I found I enjoy writing about Abe/Harper/their relationship from the viewpoint of others, and Alex's isn't one I've done often, if ever. 
> 
> The Harper/Abe stuff is very minor, simply because neither of them talk, but it is mentioned frequently throughout, so I just went ahead and tagged it, anyway.

It arrives in the mail on a warm, sunshine-filled day in late June, in an unsuspecting envelope that reads, simply,  _ Mrs. Alexandra Hunt _ . She picks it up with a smile, not bothering to glance at the return address; no fewer than six of her friends have gotten engaged within the past month, and so she figures it’s been sent to inform her of someone’s engagement dinner or someone else’s bachelorette party. 

That isn’t its purpose at all, though, which becomes clear the second she lifts the card from its confines and reads the words printed across the front. As soon as she does that - well, as soon as her brain’s able to actually absorb what it’s seeing, at least - it suddenly feels like somebody has poured a glass of iced water down the back of her shirt, and she feels an overwhelming urge just to  _ collapse _ into the next chair she sees. 

The girls are running about in the yard, completely unaware of her inner turmoil; they’re chasing each other, laughing every time they trip and end up falling into the grass. Danny is two months away from ten now, and Maggie - her littlest girl, her  _ baby _ \- turned three eight weeks ago. They have her looks and their father’s eyes, and they remind her so much of their father  _ all the time _ . No matter how much time passes, that’ll always break her heart. 

It’s been nearly a year since they left the District for the outskirts of Fairfax, and Alex remains glad they did. Things are good here. Her children  _ laugh _ here; it hurts a little less here. Jason’s ghost isn’t down every hallway and around every corner here. 

She doesn’t miss the life she’s left behind. Every so often, though, she is reminded of it. Today, that reminder has come in the form of John Abraham’s wedding invitation. 

As she reads the name above his, memories of its owner come, unbidden, into her mind.  _ Harper Ellinor Li. _ One of Abe’s fellow prosecutors, if Alex remembers correctly; one of his best friends, too.  _ Obviously more than that, now _ , she thinks to herself, scoffing at her foolishness.  _ Of course _ they’re more than that, now; she’s holding their wedding invitation, isn’t she? 

“Mommy?” Danny questions, pulling Maggie up from the ground. Her two girls make their way over to where Alex is still standing in the front yard. “Is everything okay?” 

Alex blinks, clears her throat, and blinks again, buying time before she responds. “Of course it is, honey,” she settles on finally, reaching out with her other hand to ruffle her older daughter’s dark hair. “Mommy just got some exciting news, is all. Your Uncle Abe’s getting married.” 

“Oh.” Danny sounds confused. “Who’s he marrying?” 

“Someone he works with, sweetie. Her name’s Captain Li.” 

Her daughter lights up at that. “He’s marrying  _ Miss Harper _ ?” 

Alex blinks. “You know her?” 

Danny nods eagerly. “A few times, Uncle Abe had to keep working after he’d picked me up from school. Miss Harper was usually with him.” 

“Ah,” Alex nods. “Well, that’s who he’s marrying.” 

“Can we go to the wedding?” her daughter asks hopefully, staring at Alex pitifully as she opens her mouth to refuse the request. “Please, Mommy, please?” 

And, because she’s never had much of a backbone when confronted with the wishes of her children, Alex immediately agrees, instantaneously regretting the decision in a way not even Danny’s shouts of joy can completely chase away. 

  
  


-o- 

Here’s the thing about her relationship with Abe: looking back, Alex can accept she’s responsible for its demise. She’s the one who’d ended it before it’d even really started, after all. They’d been together less than six months when she’d sat him down and told him she couldn’t do it anymore, and that was the end of it. They saw each other often, even afterward - they still do, because the girls are and always have been Abe’s priority, just as they are hers, and he’s never done and will never do anything to risk their wellbeing. 

She wonders, sometimes, how their relationship even came to be in the first place, and then she remembers exactly how it happened. She’s wanted a partner her entire life. She wanted one her entire marriage. Try as he might, Jason hadn’t always been able to provide her with that, and so, in the aftermath of his death, she’d been drawn to someone who could. 

(She thinks it says a lot about their relationship, the fact that she and Abe dated for almost six months and, even now, the first word that comes to mind when she thinks of him is  _ dependable _ .) 

She wonders if it went beyond that, though, thinks it probably did. She loved Jason, still loves Jason; that will never change. And Jason… well, Jason loved Abe, and Abe loved Jason. Still does, probably. Sure, it’s a different kind of love - she’s in love with Jason, while Abe sees him as a brother - but she thinks, quite often, it was that love that drew her to Abe. 

Love, grief, and loneliness. They’ve always been a dangerous combination, haven’t they?

  
  


-o- 

She goes to the wedding, taking the girls with her. They sit in the third row, Danny in the chair next to her and Maggie balanced on her lap, and they watch as Jason’s best friend watches his bride make her way to him on the arms of both her parents, radiant in white and absolutely  _ beaming _ . 

Abe - stoic Abe, the guy she’s only ever seen cry once, the time Danny insisted on watching  _ Old Yeller  _ \- barely makes it through his vows without breaking down into tears, and she feels like she is seeing a completely other side of him as he stares at the woman before him, smiling softly, his eyes wide and so full of love it’s almost sickening to look at for long periods of time, that is how sweet it is. 

She watches as they share their first kiss, watches as they make their way down the aisle. During the reception, with Danny trying to tug her in the direction of the sweets and Maggie sleeping in her arms, she watches as they make their way onto the dancefloor, Abe’s arms wrapping around Harper’s waist as if it’s instinct, and she’s struck by a sudden epiphany. 

Abe isn’t hers. He’s never been hers. They had a relationship, almost two years ago; they remain friends. He’s not hers, though. He’s belonged to the woman in his arms since the moment he first laid eyes on her, even if he’s probably not even realized that fact for himself, yet. 

People can’t belong to people. It’s something she’s long since acknowledged. But people do get to choose who they spend their lives with, who they’re willing to make sacrifices for. Who they are willing to give themselves over to. If the look on Abe’s face is any indication, he is plenty happy with the choices he’s made. 

(Later, after the reception and the late-night stop at McDonald’s she was too tired to argue against, Alex decides she’s glad Abe isn’t hers, that he wasn’t willing to give himself over to her. Based on what she’d seen in those two hours she spent in his presence today, he is infinitely happier than he would’ve been if he had.) 

**Author's Note:**

> Work title comes from Taylor Swift's "august."


End file.
